The effect of CAM comprehensive nursing interventions on the improvement of quality of life to patients with breast cancer and gynaecological tumours

Breastcancerin females, which is consideredthe most dreadfuldisease in India andthe worldas compared toother gynaecological cancers,demands extensive care and proper medicationin order to control itsprogressive growth. In addition to the conventional care ofthe patients, Complementary andAlternative Medicine(CAM)is administeredin a controlled way through proper guidance and counselling in orderto attainimprovedphysical andmental health forthe patients.Objective: The aim of the study wasto assess the effectiveness of CAMcomprehensive nursing interventionsand their benefit forpatients who havebreast cancer and gynaecological tumours.Methods: Statistical data was used to map the adult womendiagnosed with breast and gynaecological cancer and who were set to start new chemotherapy treatments. A total of 450 patients from different states of East India were enrolled in the studyover a period of four years. The patients wereselectedbased on their preference for undergoing CAM.The research was conducted usingacross-sectionalanonymous self-administered questionnaireto examine women's perspectivestowards the use of CAM and itseffect on their mental andphysical health.Results:42%of the women preferred theuseofCAM astheir alternative treatment. Breast cancer patients disclosed that 48.1% of them had used CAM and 39% of women with gynaecological cancersstated that they had usedCAM. The results further indicated a less frequent deteriorationin the health of CAM users(38.4%) thantonon-users(55%). In terms of those who utilizedvitamins and nutritional diets,60% of the participants reported using a proper diet, including antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and herbs etc. 37% opted for spiritual healing through yoga, 26% utilized energy healing, 42.4% utilized acupuncture,72% preferred massagesand 23% of patients utilized chiropractic methods.The use of CAM was foundmainlyin the patients with proper education and awareness and those with a family history of cancer who were not receiving the necessary care from their previous primary physician.Conclusion:CAM still requiresextensive research in terms of its applications in dealing with patients and in orderto successfully launch programmes aimed at promoting its useworldwide andto eradicate all the other false notions about it.[Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2022; 36(2):000-000]Keywords: Breast Cancerand gynaecological tumours,Complementary And Alternative Medicine (CAM), Complementary Oncology,Quality Of Life, Nutritional Diet and Spiritual Healing, HRQL (Health-Related Quality Of Life).IntroductionCancer has been the primaryconcern in Indiafrom the onset,resulting in thousands of deaths due to the lack of adequatemedication and therapy.Breast cancer is considered to bea common invasive form of cancer which is responsible for the second highest mortality rate among the primaryfatal conditions of cancer-causing deaths in women. Under the National Cancer Registry Program,the breast, cervix, uteri,and oral cavity(7)are the most common cancer sitesin women. According to statistics, 50-60% of all cancers amongIndian women are commonly found inthe cervix uteri, breast, corpus uteri and ovaries,which are the main organs forcancer invasion. The percentage of women who experience these types of cancer is increases, with more women becoming susceptible to breast cancer, in women up to 3-8% suffer fromovarian cancer,0.5-4.8%have cancer of the corpus uteri, 1-3% have vulva and/or gestational trophoblastic tumours and a staggering75,000 or more women have breast cancer. With the advancements of the disease through time,research programs were also improved in order to enable the improvement of existing measures and/or the development of new measures aimed at combating the diseas and decreasing mortality rates. Apart from the conventional chemotherapy technique,various other programs have been introduced andencorporated into treatment regimes in order to improve the lives of those who are affected by cancer.Complementary andAlternative Medicine (CAM) emphasizesthe methods and practices that are therapeutic and which help diagnose or curethe disease,these methods are intended tocomplement the conventional methods and can be used in place of mainstream medicine. Women with breast cancer and other gynaecological tumoursare increasingly inclined towards the use of CAM. With the increasing number of cancer reports in Indiaand the world,and with the principal amount leading to mortality, women with proper education and awareness are inclined to choosealternative methods rather than the old conventional ones. The side-effects resulting from the chemotherapy are immense and toxic,which is one of the reasons women are inclined to choose.Various research projects and cumulative studies have been conducted in order to review and discoverthe

Curas e terapêuticas espirituais no Brasil: revisão crítica e algumas reflexões / Spiritual healing and therapies in Brazil: a critical review and some reflections / Curas y terapéuticas espirituales en Brasil: revisión crítica y algunas reflexiones

A despeito dos trânsitos oficiosos entre terapêuticas científicas e não científicas, identifica-se de forma empírica um desconhecimento científico e acadêmico de terapêuticas e curas que, de modo geral, respondem pelo epíteto de "espiritual". Supõe-se que haja no Brasil uma abundância de eventos deste tipo, dos quais provavelmente há registros. O objetivo deste estudo é apresentar uma revisão integrativa de relatos acadêmicos de curas espirituais publicados por autores brasileiros. Identificaram-se 22 estudos, a maioria pesquisas etnográficas em contextos religiosos, realizadas por pesquisadores da área das Ciências Sociais, seguida das Ciências das Religiões, da área da Saúde (Saúde Coletiva, Enfermagem, Medicina e Psicologia), que utilizaram o conceito de eficácia simbólica para a compreensão desses fenômenos. Tais achados ressaltam a urgência de abordagens transdisciplinares que possam superar a dicotomia expressiva do recorte ideológico entre natureza e cultura.

Despite a certain crossover between scientific and non-scientific therapies, it has been empirically shown that there is a lack of scientific and academic knowledge of healing and therapies that, by and large, respond to the epithet "spiritual". It is assumed that there is an abundance of these types of events in Brazil, of which there are probably records. An integrative review of academic reports of spiritual healing published by Brazilian researchers was conducted. Twenty-two studies were identified, the majority of which were ethnographic studies in religious contexts conducted by researchers from the field of social sciences, followed by the field of religious science, and the field of health (public health, nursing, medicine, and psychology). These studies use the concept of symbolic effectiveness to understand these phenomena. These findings underline the urgency of cross-disciplinary approaches to overcome the expressive dichotomy between nature and culture.

A pesar de los tránsitos oficiosos entre terapéuticas científicas y no científicas, se identifica de forma empírica un desconocimiento científico y académico de terapéuticas y curas que, por lo general, responden por el epíteto de "espiritual". Se supone que haya en Brasil una abundancia de eventos de este tipo, de los cuales probablemente existen registros. El objetivo de este estudio es presentar una revisión integradora de relatos académicos de curas espirituales publicados por autores brasileños. Se identificaron 22 estudios, la mayoría de ellos investigaciones etnográficas en contextos religiosos, realizadas por investigadores del áreas de Ciencias Sociales, seguida por las áreas de Ciencias de las Religiones, salud (Salud colectiva, Enfermería, Medicina y Psicología) que utilizaron el concepto de eficacia simbólica para la comprensión de tales fenómenos. Esos hallazgos subrayan la urgencia de abordajes transdisciplinarios que puedan superar la dicotomía expresiva del recorte ideológico entre naturaleza y cultura

Effects of laying on of hands with and without a spiritual context on pain and functionality of older women with knee osteoarthritis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Laying on of hands (LooH) is a culturally-accepted therapy in several traditions. In Brazil, "Spiritism" (third-largest religious tradition in number of followers) uses LooH with the name of "Spiritist Passe" (SP). However, there are few studies assessing SP's role in medical outcomes. The present study aims to investigate the effects of LooH, with and without a spiritual context, on pain, joint stiffness, and functional capacity of older women (≥60 years old) with knee osteoarthritis (KOA).</p><p><b>METHODS/DESIGN</b>In this triple-blind, prospective randomized controlled trial, older women with KOA are assigned to three groups: LooH with a spiritual context group, LooH group without a spiritual context, and a control group receiving no intervention. Patients are assessed by a blinded researcher at baseline, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks. Pain, joint stiffness, and functional capacity are assessed using Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. Other measures such as anxiety, depression, gait speed, and quality of life will also be assessed. To detect differences between groups, a post-intervention comparison between the three groups and a mean change (post-pre) comparison among the three groups will be done using analysis of variance. All statistical analyses will be performed using an intention-to-treat approach and a per-protocol analysis.</p><p><b>DISCUSSION</b>A pragmatic design using SP, LooH without spiritual context, and no LooH may provide further scientific evidence on SP's feasibility and efficacy for KOA patients.</p><p><b>TRIAL REGISTRATION</b>ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02917356.</p>

Psychiatric Morbidities among Attenders of an Islamic Spiritual Healing Centre in Malaysia

Introduction: Traditional medicine which includes Islamic faith healing centre is still an important place to seek treatment whether for psychiatric reasons or others. This study aims to determine the prevalence of psychiatric illness among attenders of an Islamic spiritual healing centre and to understand patients’ illness attribution and their religiosity. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done with a systematic random sampling to obtain the prevalence of psychiatric illness which was diagnosed using Malay version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I). Religiosity was measured using Hatta Islamic Religiosity Scale 1996 (HIRS96) and illness perception using Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ). Results: The prevalence of psychiatric illness among the attenders was 53.5%. Depressive disorder were more prevalent (41.5%) followed by anxiety disorder (28.3%), bipolar disorder (16.8%) and psychotic disorders (5.9%). More than half (58.8%) of attenders attributed their illness to supernatural causes but there were no significant difference between those with psychiatric illness and those without in terms of their attribution to supernatural causes, p=0.197.Generally, the patients had a higher religiosity score. Conclusion : This high prevalence shows a need for collaboration with the spiritual healing practitioners to improve delivery of treatment to patient and this would be a more holistic approach.

Concept Analysis of Healing: Focusing on Patient Health related Literatures

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify attributes of the concept of healing. METHODS: Using Walker & Avant's concept analysis framework, medical & nursing text books and, research articles about healing published between 2000 and 2014 were reviewed. RESULTS: There were four aspects of the concept of healing: natural process through spiritual and mental purification; resilience of emotions and feeling in human nature; holistic cure as well as physical and mental treatment of disease; and harmonious balance and overall well-being of mind and body. Antecedents of healing that helped to purify the mind were illness recovery and injury perception. Empirical referents of healing were purifying the mind, quality of life and health-related spirituality. The consequences of healing were effective on the physical, psychosocial, spiritual and overall well-being of the patients. CONCLUSION: This concept analysis of healing help us to understand more clearly overall health and the health of patients in the clinical field. The concept of healing could be useful to promote health and well-being.